Zuid - Afrika
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Zuid - Afrika |
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Preparations for the tripFor some years we had plans for travelling through South Africa. Sometime mid 2003 we decided to go for it early 2004. The choice for the time to travel was heavily influenced by the climate. We wanted to visit both the North (Kruger Park) and the South (Cape Province) in good weather. On top of that we wanted to avoid the South African holiday season. This lead us to choose for February and March at the end of the summer (Cape) and the rain season (Kruger). When it comes to traveling we are really the DIY type (do-it yourself). For us no all inclusive tours, but rather putting together our own itineray with help of a good guide book and the internet. On this page you can read how we did it what we had to consider. Maybe it will be helpful for you too. Guide BookWe The Rough Guides website contains large parts (if not all) of the book contents. Very helpful while preparing your trip before you have bought the book. The site also contains updates with information that came up after the publication of the book. |
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For a road map we used the Road Atlas Glovebox "South Africa" by MapStudio. A handy booklet (ring binder) with normal maps at a scale of 1:1.500.000, tourist area maps scaled between 1:250.000 to 1:900.000 and city maps of the 11 larger cities. FlightsAlthough I realise that the information on flights you will find below may only be relevant to Dutch readers or European readers at best, I nevertheless included it in the english version of this page. We started looking on the Internet for good flights quite some time before our departure. For us it was important to strike a good balance between price and comfort (stops & transfers). Direct flights (with KLM) were most expensive. Indirect flights (with stops and transfers) become cheaper as the number of stops increases and the transfer time becomes longer. We wanted to fly out to Johannesburg and back from Cape Town. On top of that we needed a domestic flight from Durban to Port Elizabeth. On the site of Vliegwinkel.nl it was very easy to shop for the desired flights and dates of many airlines. The fares are quite good. In the end we chose British Airways. Departing late afternoon from Amsterdam to London, relatively short transfer and then on during the night to Johannesburg with an early morning arrival. Back it went directly from Cape Town to London (again an overnight flight without stop in Johannesburg) and after a good hour from the same terminal on to Amsterdam. Booking and payment (bank remittance) were dead easy. Tickets were mailed to our home within days. |
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The domestic flight we booked online directly from South African Airways ( www.flysaa.com ). Via Vliegwinkel it would have been a bit more expensive. Alternative could have been Nationwide Air. Their fare was a bit lower, but technical inadequacies in their website prevented us from booking and paying the tickets. Car RentalWe shopped around on the internet at the various international car rental companies. Best deal price wise (the cars are all the same quality) was Sixt. For holiday makers the have so called Holiday Car rates, which are very attractive. These include 1 extra driver, insurance and NWR. We did not have to pay a drop-off charge for the one way rental (return at a different location than the pick-up location). At picking up the car we had to mention that we wanted to drive the car into Swaziland. Sixt gave us a (free of charge) statement that they agreed for insurance purposes. In total we paid around €750 for 24 days rental of a type B car (Volkswagen Polo). The second car we had from Port Elizabeth was a (free) upgrade to a type C car(Nissan Almera). AccommodationFor accommodation we mostly rely on the Rough Guide. Sometimes we like to stay in "gay friendly" or "gay owned" guesthouses or hotels. Especially when we expect that people will be not too broad minded. By the way this was not the reason in South Africa. For these accommodations we used websites like: www.purpleroofs.com , www.gaynetsa.co.za and www.gaysouthafrica.org.za . A number of nights we booked through Internet, especially at the beginning of our trip. The rest we reserved by phone whilst in the country with help of the Rough Guide and our cell phone. National ParksSAN-parksNational Parks in South Africa are run by South
Africa National Parks or SAN. The larger parks have restcamps We booked 3 nights in three different restcamps online. The credit card details could be sent by fax or e-mail. With hindsight the reservations were not really necessary in the period we stayed in South Africa. At the end of February the restcamps were only half full. KZN-WildlifeIn the provincie KwaZulu-Natal the parks are run by KZN-Wildlife . On their site too accommodation can be booked online. In KwaZulu Natal we did not spend the night in the reserves Kruger and Sabi SandsKruger Park is the largest and best known National Park of South Africa. The park covers
22.000km² and the wild life is very rich. In the park you can drive your own car. Staying overnight is very worthwhile
, because it gives you the opportunity to take part in
On Kruger's western border a part of the reserve is in The private resorts are fairly expensive but offer an unique experience. On the other hand the 24 hour service can get too much after a while. It is a good idea to spend one or two nights in a private resort, "to get your eye in" and then explore indepently in the public part of Kruger for another two or three days. InocculationsIn parts of South Africa malaria is still present and
this applies notably to the lower parts of the provinces Limopo, Mpumalanga (including Kruger) and
KwaZulu-Natal. Taking malaria-profylaxe is very much recommendable, especially during
rain season. ElectricityElectrical power comes at 230Volts with a frequency of 50Hz,
just like Europe. The sockets, however, |
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are faithful readers of the Rough Guide. We find the advantage of it against
its competitor Lonely Planet, that they are more clearly structured
(more so after the restyling of 2002), but more importantly that they are less budget
oriented. Notably with regard to restaurants and accommodation they have made a broader selection when it comes to price
and comfort. Also Rough Guide has a somewhat more European angle on things and the writers do not impose their views to
the reader as much as LP does. Others may very well appreciate the budget orientation or the more personal style of LP better
. We used Rough Guide South Africa, Lesotho & Swaziland, 3rd
edition, 2002. 
where
you can stay overnight. Accommodation in the restcamps consist mainly of cabins
for two or more persons, with en suit or shared ablutions. There are also camping grounds.
The accommodations can be booked through SAN's website. With the booking of accommodation also the
entrance charges for the park itself are paid. 
Sunset Game Drives and Morning Game Drives from the restcamps. After 17.30 it is not allowed to drive in your own car, but
the open safari vehicles of SAN are the only ones who can. And night time is the time when the wildlife gets into action.
It is possible to book the safaris before hand, but we booked them on site.
private hands. In this part of the reserve luxury safari resorts have been set up.
These are small in scale and the staff is very focussed on personal service
and do their utmost on the safari's to show as much wildlife as possible. Best
known is Sabi Sands near Kruger Gate. The resorts in Sabi Sands can be found on the following website:
(Nov-Apr).
The GG&GD (local health authority) in Rotterdam advised us to take the pills and gave
us a prescription for Malarone. These pills should be taken from one day before entering
the malaria area until a week after you have left it. The pills are very expensive
so we had to make a good estimate of how long we would be in the area. Beside that it
turned out that our DTP-shots (Difteria/Tetanus/Polio) had expired. We had new ones giving us
another 15 years of protection. Also shots against hepititis A (jaundice) are a good idea. This inocculation
gives one year protection. If we take a booster shot after a year we will have ten years of protection.
are totally unique. No foreign plug fits (not even british plugs). Adapters are not for sale outside the country and
universal travel adapters are no use in South Africa. Within the country adapters are widely available at very low prices.
Some hotels have them available in the room. For North American and Japanese appliances you will also need a converter.
